Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD)

Entry standards

A First or Upper Second class honours degree in psychology and graduate basis for Chartered membership (GBC) from the British Psychological Society (BPS). Sufficient personal maturity and stability to cope with the demands of the programme. Satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. Previous relevant experience and/or training is desirable.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 7 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - structure and modules

Subject information

Our Approach 

The programme exposes trainees to a range of experiences (workshops, lectures, individual and group review meetings, placements, practice and research supervision sessions, personal therapy and PPD groups) and continuously assesses their actual learning: in process reports embedded in case studies, video exercises, practice supervision, theoretical and integrative essays, literature reviews, research methods exercises and research reports, and oral exams. 

Within this, the programme affords different individual developments and outcomes as we strive to promote personal and professional growth that is sufficiently tailored to individual talents and needs. 

The programme provides notable exposure to two main psychotherapy traditions – the psychoanalytic and the cognitive-behavioural – chosen fundamentally for marketability and historical reasons. However, the philosophical underpinning of the programme is clearly phenomenological and, to an extent, postmodern. 

Trainees are also exposed, albeit more briefly, to several other models and integrative and eclectic perspectives, and are thus offered the opportunity to develop their own personal preferences as well as understanding of similarities and differences between varying approaches. 

As a result, our trainees develop a thorough understanding of at least two models, but their individual choice of models can vary. Some trainees have leaned towards additional approaches, for example, humanistic, existential or social-constructivist, whilst being also sufficiently well-versed in psychoanalytic and cognitive-behavioural theories and practices. Many trainees in fact develop their own integrative or eclectic perspective.

Programme Structure and Content 

Year 1 

Introductory block – four weeks. The initial four weeks are focused on developing your interpersonal skills in the therapeutic domain so that you enter your placement with increased confidence and competence in your ability to engage with clients and develop therapeutic relationships.

Modules

Throughout Year 1 you will take a number of academic and practice-oriented modules, including: 

• Assessment and Formulation 
• The Context of Counselling Psychology Practice 
• Group Supervision Tutorials 
• Life-span Development 
• Understanding Human Distress 
• Qualitative Research Methods 
• Quantitative Research Methods (Part 1) 
• Theoretical Models of Therapy 
• Therapeutic Skills Training, Practice and Audit 

Therapeutic practice 

Following the initial introductory block, you will work with our professional tutors to establish placements that are appropriate to your learning needs and where you will be seeing clients two days a week.

Research 

You will be required to submit an 8000-word research report written in the form of a journal article (usually a literature review on the topic of your future research) and contribute to a short, qualitative group project.

 Personal development 

You will attend a personal and professional development group. You will also start attending personal psychological therapy. 

 

Year 2 

Modules

Throughout year 2 you will take a number of academic modules, including: 

• Group Supervision Tutorials 
• Issues in Counselling Psychology Practice 
• Quantitative Research Methods (Part 2) 
• Theoretical Models of Therapy 
• Therapeutic Skills Development, Practice and Audit

Therapeutic practice 

You will spend two days a week in a psychodynamic therapy placement. 

 

Research 

You will submit an 8000-word research report written in the form of a journal article. 

Personal development 

You will attend a personal and professional development group. You will continue to attend personal psychological therapy totalling at least 40 hours between this year and Year 1. Personal therapy is recommended throughout the programme. 

Year 3 

Modules

Throughout Year 3 you will take a number of academic modules, including:

• Group Supervision 
• Issues in Counselling Psychology Practice 
• Theoretical Models of Therapy 
• Therapeutic Skills Development, Practice and Audit 
• Workshop Programme 

Therapeutic practice 

Two days a week are spent in a cognitive-behavioural therapy placement. 

Research 

You will submit an 8000-word research report written in the form of a journal article. 

Personal development 

Personal psychological therapy is recommended throughout the programme.

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - entry standards

Entry standards

A First or Upper Second class honours degree in psychology and graduate basis for Chartered membership (GBC) from the British Psychological Society (BPS). Sufficient personal maturity and stability to cope with the demands of the programme. Satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. Previous relevant experience and/or training is desirable.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 7 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

Application procedure

Please note that in addition to completing the standard online postgraduate application form, applicants for this programme should also complete a course-specific application which gives us information we need in relation to a Practitioner Doctorate. Please visit our School web page for more details and the application form.

The deadline for applications for September 2012 entry is 3 February 2012. 

Planned intake

16

Start date

September

Programme director

• Dr Riccardo Draghi-Lorenz

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - fees and funding

Fees

Fee rates available from autumn 2011; visit www.surrey.ac.uk/pgfees/2012

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - professional context

Professional placements

You will undertake three year-long placements in a variety of settings, working with a range of client groups. Our aim is to ensure that you gain sufficient experience in working within the programme’s main theoretical models (that is, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural) to enable you to develop a coherent, integrative, flexible approach to practice. 

To date, trainees have undertaken placements in NHS psychology and psychotherapy departments, with community mental health teams, in primary care, in drug and alcohol services, eating disorders services, child and family services, older adult services and student counselling services, and in organisational settings.

Professional recognition

The programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and approved by the Health Professions Council (HPC – the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists). It provides eligibility to apply for BPS Chartered Psychologist Status, with full membership of the Division of Counselling Psychology, and to apply for registration as a Counselling Psychologist with the HPC.

Accreditation

Occasionally we offer a Year 2 place, if this becomes available. When taking trainees into Year 2 of the programme, the selection procedure is extended to undertake a detailed exploration of prior learning, so that trainees can be granted advanced standing without compromising their ability to benefit from the full range of learning experiences available on the programme. Experience shows that when able to enter directly into Year 2, applicants will be required to undertake the Year 1 module on Qualitative Research Methods and occasionally some other Year 1 modules.

Careers

Psychotherapeutic and counselling psychology is an expanding area of professional applied psychology. Counselling psychologists work in a variety of settings including GP practices, community mental health teams, clinical psychology departments, voluntary agencies, social services, private practice, higher education, national and international companies/organisations and so on. 

Our graduates have been extremely successful in obtaining jobs as counselling psychologists and have established themselves in a range of settings including the NHS, prisons, EAP settings, private companies and independent practices.

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - teaching

Staff perspective

Dr Riccardo Draghi-Lorenz

I obtained the equivalent of a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Experimental Psychology from the University of Rome, a Postgraduate Diploma in Research Methods at the University of London, and a PhD in Infant Psychology at the University of Portsmouth.

I also completed a four-year postgraduate psychotherapy course in Transactional Analysis as an Integrative Framework at the Institute of Training and Research for Educators and Psychotherapists in Rome. My academic and clinical training is the bedrock of all my professional activities.

My research interests include the early development of self-conscious emotions such as pride, shame, jealousy, ‘schadenfreude’ and emphatic concern; the development and nature of intersubjectivity; the early development of interpersonal skills and sense of self; and the role of perception and action in emotion communication and relationships.

With trainees, I have also published in the areas of ethnicity and psychotherapy and parenting children with autism. I see it as my professional duty to ensure that the programme we run here at Surrey similarly provides our trainees with the foundations for their own successful careers.

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - learning

Our Facilities 

The Department of Psychology is a hub of information and support. You will have access to the following facilities:

Computing 

Two computing rooms, one dedicated to postgraduate students 

Test library 

300+ psychometric tests is available, as well as five years of dissertations and theses from all programmes 

Video and audio editing 

Image and audio manipulation, interview and telephone recording transcription equipment. Observation suite (video and audio recording) 

Seminar and classrooms 

Three fully equipped for multi-media presentations

Assessment and Evaluation 

Assessment is by means of written assignments (efor example, essays, client studies/process reports, research reports), exams (oral and written), videoed practical exercises, placement supervisors’ reports, client logbooks, and so on.

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - graduate profile

Graduate Profile: Will Edwards

PsychD Practitioner Doctorate in Pschotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology

I enrolled on a Graduate Diploma in Psychology as part of a long-term fundamental change in direction. In parallel, I took foundation courses in counselling and did voluntary work with the local council, with a view to pursuing a career in counselling psychology.

I decided to apply for the Practitioner Doctorate in Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Psychology at Surrey based on its reputation as an innovative, highly regarded training programme and having attended the annual Open Day, where I could hear about it directly from the tutors and current trainees. At the Open Day it became clear that the programme was well set out in terms of academic rigour, with high priority being given to research activity and to ensuring effective clinical placements. I was convinced that this was the course for me.

As I now reach the end of the doctorate, I am a satisfied customer of the Surrey programme. The years I have spent here have definitely been demanding on many levels. The course expects high standards of its trainees but the academic and professional tutors also provide the theoretical input and the support needed for personal and professional development necessary to achieve them. As an example of Surrey going that extra mile, apart from placement supervisors’ twice yearly written reports on each trainee, each year a professional tutor makes a visit to your placement to review progress and provide the opportunity to raise and resolve any issues. I know of no other equivalent course that does this. Now, whilst feeling a whole mix of emotions, including sadness, excitement and fear, I feel confident that I have the skills in therapeutic and research practice and the self-awareness to embark on my new profession.

During training there is little spare time but I’ve found it important to maintain a work-life balance, including successfully getting married during the programme, so, even if focus is needed to achieve a balance, it is possible!

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - more

Application Process

Please note that in addition to completing the standard online postgraduate application form, applicants for this programme should also complete a course-specific application which gives us information we need in relation to a Practitioner Doctorate. Please visit our School web page for more details and the application form.

The deadline for applications for September 2012 entry is 3 February 2012 after which a shortlist for interviews will be drawn up. Late applications will not normally be considered due to the short time-scale and volume of applications received.

Interviews will be held in April. Applicants should be aware that trainees will be subject to checks by the Criminal Records Bureau during the course of their training.

All short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a panel of members of the programme team, and will be required to complete a written exercise and to participate in an observed group discussion.

Selection Procedure 

We are looking for evidence of good theoretical, research and relational skills, a degree of personal awareness, emotional ease and robustness. Prior training and experience of therapeutic settings is also highly desirable. A first selection is made on the basis of documentary applications. All shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by a panel consisting of programme officers, and will be required to complete a written exercise and to participate in an observed group discussion.

Trainee/Graduate Publications 

Many of our trainees/graduates have published their research. You are encouraged to submit your work for publication and thereby share your insights and findings with other practitioners. Our aim is to produce graduates who can evaluate all forms of psychological research and use it in an informed way to enrich their therapeutic practice, and who can undertake high-quality practice-relevant research to extend the evidence base of the discipline.

Open Day 

A presentation of the programme by members of staff and Year 3 trainees is given in December or January, with the opportunity for informal conversations with staff and current trainees. 

Psychology at Surrey 

The Department of Psychology at the University of Surrey is one of the most active and highly regarded psychology departments in the country. We specialise in applied and policy-oriented teaching and research within a strong theoretical context. The international, interdisciplinary, policy and applied strengths of the Department mean that students’ theoretical and methodological research puts them at the cutting edge of the discipline. 

We are one of the highest ranked departments in the country for graduates entering employment, and also one of the largest providers of postgraduate training in the UK. 

The Department of Psychology has been the centre for many cross-national studies and has attracted funding from research councils and local and national government departments, such as ESF, Defra, the MoD, the Home Office, the Environment Agency, the Countryside Agency, Surrey County Council and the EU. 

If you choose to study psychology at the University of Surrey, you will be provided with a combination of opportunities that would be hard to match elsewhere. We offer you a degree that provides a thorough grounding in the theories, methods and practice of contemporary psychology. Our programmes lay particular emphasis on the application of psychology to real-world problems, and also consider issues related to professional practice in preparation for your career as a professional psychologist. 

The basis of good postgraduate courses is the research activity of staff, the incorporation of current research programmes in teaching material and a reciprocal relationship between theory development and applied research in everyday contemporary issues. We believe in involving all postgraduate students in the research life of the Department through active participation in one of the research groups, by attendance at research seminars and, where possible, an attachment to ongoing research projects. As a student of the Department of Psychology, you will also have access to a number of conferences, seminars and workshops hosted throughout the year. 

Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (PsychD) - apply

Please note that in addition to completing the standard online postgraduate application form, applicants for this programme should also complete a course-specific application which gives us information we need in relation to a Practitioner Doctorate. Please visit our School web page for more details and the application form.

The deadline for applications for September 2012 entry is 3 February 2012. 

• PsychD: Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology - Full-time - starting September 2012